CUMBERLAND, Md. -- A flurry of police activity Tuesday in Cumberland, including the Trooper 5 helicopter circling the area around Independence and Bedford streets, and a special response team in action, signaled the arrests of three men in a recent series of violent armed robberies, including a home invasion.
Arrested were Cody Jerome Crabtree, 23, of Cumberland; Cory Joseph Crabtree, 20, of Cumberland; and 21-year-old Zachary Burdette Huffman of Oldtown. The three are charged with several counts of armed robbery, theft, assault and related charges, police said. Bond was set at $2.5 million each for Cody and Cory Crabtree, and $25,000 for Huffman. They are incarcerated in the Allegany County Detention Center pending their next court appearance, police said.
Police are still seeking one man, Gregory Thomas Laisure, who is considered armed and dangerous, according to a press release from C3I.
Police nabbed the Crabtree brothers at a Cumberland apartment. Huffman was tracked down at a home in Oldtown. Investigators with C3I made the arrests, according to the press release.
The Cumberland Police CERT (Containment and Emergency Response Team) team, armed with a search warrant for the Crabtree apartment, and after arresting them, searched the apartment and recovered evidence related to several of the crimes. Later in the evening, the CERT team, with another search warrant and armed with an array of weapons and armor, entered a residence on High Bedford Street, police said.
"Investigators recovered firearms that had been reported stolen during another home invasion robbery that occurred in Centerville, Pennsylvania on December 11, 2011, the same night that the victim in Rawlings' residence was entered," police said.
"It's a big relief for the public," said Sheriff Craig Robertson, who declined further comment because it was C3I's case, he credited the organization for its hard work. Police said they anticipate further arrests as the investigation continues.
The violent crimes the men are charged with include cases in Cumberland, Flintstone and Rawlings. On Nov. 28, at the Brass Kactus bar in Cumberland, an employee arriving at work at 5 a.m. was robbed by three men, wearing dark clothes and ski masks. One of the men pulled a small handgun. One of the men then hit the employee in the head and demanded money. The thieves fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and the bar.
It was about 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 when two men robbed Billie's Gas & Grub in Flintstone. The men, again in dark clothes and ski masks, pulled a gun and demanded money from an employee at the cash register and also demanded money from the safe. The employee turned the money over and the men left on foot.
A gang of four suspects terrorized a 69-year-old woman, tying up her hands and feet, while they robbed her home on Sunday. At about 8 p.m., the four people broke into the Rawlings home, again hidden behind ski masks and assaulted the woman, they tied her up and demanded money. The four took firearms in the home, loaded them into the victim's vehicle, and took off in her car. The victim's vehicle and the guns were found the next day, abandoned in the parking lot of a motel. After tracking down information on the car, state police traveled to the victim's home, where they discovered the victim, still bound and lying on the floor, 16 hours later.
The Centerville, Pa., case, involved an Evitts Creek Road couple, who were robbed and beaten Sunday night when three masked suspects armed with a handgun forced their way into their residence, according to Pennsylvania State Police at Bedford.
Between 9:30 and 10 p.m., the suspects forced a rear door of the residence as the occupants "retreated to the basement of the residence after realizing what was going on," police said.
Two of the suspects caught the couple in the basement and then took them to the first floor where the victims were punched and kicked, police said.
Money, prescription medication and firearms were stolen before the suspects fled, traveling south on Evitts Creek Road in an unknown vehicle being driven by a fourth suspect. The driver was said to be a white male, police said.
"A joint investigation involving the Cumberland Police, the Maryland State Police, the Allegany County Sheriff's Office, and C3I helped investigators develop several suspects. Enough information was developed that led investigators to obtain arrest warrants," police said. Search warrants were also obtained, they said.
Police also have an arrest warrant for Laisure. Laisure is a white male, 22 years of age, 5 feet, three inches in height, and weighing 145 pounds. Laisure may be armed, and should be considered dangerous. Anybody with information on Laisure's whereabouts is asked to contact their nearest law enforcement agency. The Cumberland Police can be contacted at 301-777-1600, the Maryland State Police at 301-729-2101, the Allegany County Sheriff's Office at 301-777-5959, or the C3I Unit at 301-777-0326.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at [email protected].
Staff writer Jeffrey Alderton contributed to this story.
Copyright 2011 - Cumberland Times-News, Md.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
